The following essay was prepared for a college course I took in pursuit of my Bachelor's degree of music performance (classical guitar). The essay deals with the nylon-stringed variant of our favorite instrument and may be insightful to curious readers. Enjoy!

Guitar Literature and History

March 27, 2011

The Twentieth-Century Guitar

The era of modern guitar essentially began upon the death of legendary Spanish guitarist and composer Francisco Tárrega. By the time of his death in 1909 Tárrega had set precedents that guitarists were to follow for the better part of the century (Wade).

Echoes of Tárrega and his standardization can first be seen in the modern era of guitar beginning with the Spanish guitar maestro Andres Segovia (1893-1987). From the outset of his concert career Segovia, who never actually met Tárrega showed much respect for the manner in which Tárrega programmed his recitals. Also carrying out this same style of a program which selects a number of shorter works from various time periods and composers was a famous pupil of Tárrega, Miguel Lobet (1878-1938). Interestingly during this time instrumental recitals did not follow the chronological order of programming as came to be a standard in later years (Wade).

In the decade from 1920-1930 the classical guitar saw an ever-expanding volume of new repertory that was created for it. Segovia in particular had a way of inspiring the composers, both with knowledge of the guitar and without, to write a piece for him to play. Very notably were the pieces written for Segovia by Manuel Ponce (1882-1948), Roussel (1869-1937), Ravel (1875-1937), Grovlez (1879-1944), Turina (1882-1949), Torroba (1891-1982) and Falla (1876-1946) (Wade).

With the advancement of technology during the first half of the twentieth-century guitarists for the first time in history were able to record their music by electrical means. The Paraguayan guitarist Augustin Barrios Mangore is thought to be the first classical guitarist to have been recorded. These examples date back to 1913. Miguel Lobet recorded fifteen discs in his lifetime beginning in 1925. Segovia began his first recordings in Havana, Cuba in 1923 with his first commercial recordings being released in 1927 to rave reviews (Wade).

During the years of 1924-1930 Segovia began editing new pieces by the contemporary composers and rearranging or transcribing classic works. These included works by Bach, Torroba, Ponce, Mozart and Turina and helped to expand the guitar repertory.

Meanwhile, as Segovia focused his energies on works of many different periods, Emilio Pujol (1886-1980) did much research in the way of Renaissance and Baroque guitar. An interesting difference of opinion between Pujol and Segovia regarding the usage of fingernails when playing the guitar occurred when Pujol published his infamous “Dilemma on the Timbre of the guitar” in 1930. In this work Pujol asserts that the sound of the nail striking the string is “…conical, pungent, and nasal…” while striking with the fingertip “…possesses an intrinsic beauty…” Of course, Segovia vehemently disagreed stating that plucking with fingertips is a “…detriment of the full rendering of the guitar’s characteristic qualities…” And in the end Segovia would win this battle (Wade).

During the following years of the late 1920’s to mid 1930’s the guitar repertoire continued to expand most notably with a guitar concerto by Castello-Nuevo Todesco. In 1937 Segovia acquired one of the finest guitars ever made, a German-made 1937 Hermann Hauser I (1882-1952). This guitar would be called by Segovia, “the greatest guitar of our epoch”, and he would continue to play Hauser guitars for many years to come. Another guitar concerto, the “Concierto de Arjuanez” by Rodrigo was debuted in 1940; it later became the most popular large-scale work for guitar (Wade).

Also in 1940 the Brazilian composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) presented to Segovia his “Six Preludes” one of which was very sadly lost. Fortunately, these five preludes were well received by the public and have gone on to become some of the best music for guitar.

In 1945 a great innovation took place in the realm of the guitar string. Until this point guitarists had used gut (catgut) treble strings and metal-wound spun silk for basses. These strings were plagued with constant breakages, intonation and tuning issues and thus had guitarists and luthiers seeking a better alternative. After meeting luthiers Albert Augustine (1900-1967) Segovia encouraged the maker to research nylon material for strings and in 1947 the product was copyrighted.

As time passed and many of the composers Segovia worked with had died, his fame increased exponentially and he continued to edit works and make recordings. A new generation of younger players including Yepes (1927-1997), Presti (1924-1967) and Bream (1933) began to rise to success under the carefully established techniques of the Maestro Andres Segovia.

During the 1950’s Segovia continued began teaching summer-school guitar classes, thus giving the younger generation a chance to study with him. He also continued editing pieces, and wrote the preface to the famous “Douze Etudes” by Villa-Lobos which were to be published in 1952.

Julian Bream was by the late 1950’s beginning to achieve much popularity and reputation. He, like Segovia, began to have pieces written for him to play in concert and thus made a greater name for himself in his 20s. By this time the son of Hermann Hauser I, who had since died, was building guitars in the vein of the work of his father. Hermann Hauser II (1911-1988) made what would be the guitar that Bream made famous in 1957.

In 1958 John Williams (1941) had gone to study at the Segovia summer-school program. The Maestro was greatly impressed by the young Williams and labeled him as the most promising young guitarist. In the coming years both Bream and Williams were to record commercially successful albums and give the public a point of comparison between Segovia and the new generation.

A turning point in the guitars of Segovia was to occur in 1960 when Jose Ramirez III (1922-1995) convinced Segovia to play his instruments. The Maestro put aside his 1937 Hauser and would play Ramirez instruments for the remainder of his life. After seeing and hearing Segovia play the unique guitars with a red cedar soundboard, many other artists also switched to Ramirez guitars.

As time wore on the new generation of guitarists including Bream, Williams, Los Romero’s, Barrueco, Barbosa-Lima, Galbraith, Isbin, Rak, Ghilia, and others have risen to fame. Luthiers with innovative and traditional ideas have added to the ever-changing technology of the guitar including Fleta, Romanillos, Rubio, Bouchet, Smallman and others. Composers such as Lauro, Brouwer, Domeniconi, Tippet and Takemitsu have all come to prove their artistry through the guitar. Only time will tell the fate of our favorite instrument, but judging by historical evidence, it seems that a bright future is ahead.